- How do I submit a proposal for approval?
- How long does it take for a proposal to be processed by Research Administration?
- How do I write a sub contract?
Human Subjects Research
- How do I get a request for human subjects research (IRB) approved?
- How often does the Institutional Review Board (IRB) meet?
- Do all human subjects research (IRB) requests get reviewed by the full board?
Summer Salary
- How do I calculate Summer Salary for a grant proposal?
- Why must I include fringe benefits in Summer Salary?
- How do I calculate pro-rated Medical Insurance costs for Summer Salary?
- What forms do I use to request Summer Salary?
Indirect Costs
- What are Indirect Costs (IDC)?
- How are Indirect Costs (IDCs) calculated?
- Do I have to ask for Indirect Costs (IDC) on all my proposals?
Proposals & Contracts
Complete a Proposal Routing Package (PRP) available on the Forms page and send it electonically to Reggie Rogers for pre-screening. Reggie may set up a meeting with you to review your submission. Once the review is complete, the PRP will be emailed back to you. Print it out, get your dean and department head signatures and take it to Research Administration for final approval processing.
A pre-screened and signed PRP can normally be appoved by Research Administration in five days. Keep that in mind as the date the proposal is due to the funding agency approaches.
If you don't get your proposal to Research Administration AT LEAST five days before it is due, your proposal may not be submitted on time and you could loose a funding opportunity.
If you don't know where to begin, just give Reggie a call at 227-2576 and he'll help you get started.
How long does it take for a proposal to be processed by Research Administration?
Failure to get your PRP to Reseach Administration at least 5 days before it is due to the funding agency may result in you proposal not being submitted.
How do I write a sub contract?
The offices of Legal Counsel and Research Administration have worked together to develop two templates to be used for most kinds of services. They are (a) Standard Contract for Services and (b) Standard Subcontract for Services. They are available on the Forms page.
Standard Contract for Services. This template is used when Western is soliciting services from an individual or agency.
Standard Subcontract for Services. This template will be used most of the time as PIs identify individuals or agencies to perform a service that is related to their grant.
The PI should send an email to ORA giving them all the information necessary for them to create the appropriate document including the individual or agency’s mailing address. ORA will need information for all the areas in red. When the document is complete, ORA will mail it to the individual or agency copying the PI.
Modification(s) to Subcontract. Occasionally, it becomes necessary for a PI to extend the ending date and/or increase the budget of a subcontract. When this occurs, the PI should contact ORA with the new ending date and/or budget increase. ORA will complete the modification form and mail to the individual or agency copying the PI.
Human Subjects Research
The IRB meets the first Monday of every month to review requests that individual board members felt required full board review. The current schedule is available here.
Do all IRBs get reviewed by the board?
No.
IRB requests are sent to the subject area expert on the board who can approve, reject or return your IRB with conditions. Request can ususally be processed in less than 10 days. However, if the individual board member feels a request requires a more thorough review, it will be referred to the full board. The IRB will then discuss the request at the regular meeting held the first Monday of each month.
Summer Salary
One of the first things you need to do is take your base salary and divide that amount by 9. This will give you the amount you can pay yourself per summer month (maximum of 3 months).
Example: $54,000/9=$6,000
Summer Salary = $6,000 x 3 = $18,000
Total Annual Salary = Academic Salary ($54,000) plus Summer Salary ($18,000) = $72,000
Nine month employees who receive supplemental pay during the academic year or a 12-month employee receiving supplemental pay must complete an AA7 and follow Policy 22.
Office of State Budget requires that fringe benefits must be paid from the same budget that the salary is paid out of. Therefore if you receive a summer salary from an external fund, that fund must also pay its share of your fringe. Western’s current approved fringe rates are as follows:
Social Security: 7.65%
Retirement (state): 8.54%
Retirement (optional): 11.86%
Medical Insurance: $4,293/year; $358/mo
Take the amount of summer salary and divide by the total annual salary. This gives you the percentage needed for medical insurance assessment on summer salaries.
Example: $18,000/$72,000= .25 x $4293 (annual insurance rate) = $1,073. (The difference between the annual medical insurance amount and the amount being charged to your grant is charged to your academic salary budget.)
Which form to use. As an EPA employee, you must request your summer salary by processing an AA-7 form. You may pick up an AA7 from your department or dean’s offices or from the Office of the Provost.
Timeliness of forms: It is imperative that you process the form as soon as you are sent your grant/fund numbers so your check will be on time.
Who signs the form. After the form is completed, it will require the signature of your department head, dean and then forward to the Office of the Provost. After it is approved, the form is forwarded to the Director of Grants and Contracts. From this office the form is forwarded to Human Resources. Once HR has processed the form, it will be submitted to the Payroll Office. As you can see, there are a number of folks who will handle the form from the time you complete it until you receive your paycheck; thus it is very important to obey the timeline established by the Payroll Office.
Indirect Costs
IDC are associated with:
- Maintenance and operation of facilities
- Departmental administration
- General administration
- Sponsored Projects administration
- Library expense
- Depreciation of buildings and equipment
- Certain student usage costs
- Campus Computing Network Access
The off-campus IDC rate recovers only those expenses which fall into the following categories:
- Departmental administration
- General administration
- Research administration
In other words, IDC stem from providing research space and administering the activities, not from the actual performance of the activities under the sponsored agreement.
The Western Carolina University indirect cost Rate Agreement (currently 31.6%) with DHHS, Effective July 1. 2007 – June 30, 2011, is applied to a Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) base. The MTDC is your total direct cost amount minus costs (listed below) that are excluded. To calculate F&A:
Total Direct Costs minus Exclusions = MTDC
MTDC x IDC % = IDC $
F&A should not be charge on the following direct costs:
- Equipment-defined as tangible nonexpendable personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit;
- Capital expenditures;
- Charges for patient care;
- Tuition remission;
- Rental costs of off-site facilities;
- Scholarships;
- Fellowships; and
- Individual subcontracts in excess of $25,000 (IDC is charged on the first $25,000).
Do I have to ask for Indirect Costs (IDC) on all my proposals?
The negotiated IDC rate is required on all sponsored programs, whether they are from public or private sources. The only exception to this requirement is:
When the sponsoring organization has a formal written policy, consistently applied to all such awards, limiting the F&A cost rates or amounts. For example, it is not uncommon for a foundation/non-profit to limit F&A costs to 10% or less; the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health typically limit F&A costs to 8% on training grants.
Any other requests for an exception require negotiation with, and the written approval of, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs or designee.